A rough season on the track apparently was accompanied by a rough season off the track for Danica Patrick, who announced Tuesday that she is splitting from her husband, Paul Hospenthal, after seven years of marriage.

Hospenthal, who is 17 years older than the 30-year-old Patrick, is a physical therapist and met Patrick while treating her for an injury.

They married in November 2005 in Arizona, where they still live. They have no children. Hospenthal typically keeps a low profile but has been to the races several times this year.

“I am sad to inform my fans that after 7 years, Paul and I have decided to amicably end our marriage,” Patrick said in a post on her Facebook page.

“This isn't easy for either of us, but mutually it has come to this. He has been an important person and friend in my life and that's how we will remain moving forward."

Patrick, the highest-finishing woman ever in the Indianapolis 500 with a third in 2009, became the first woman to finish in the top-10 in a NASCAR national series as she placed 10th in the Nationwide Series this year driving for JR Motorsports.

She will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing next year in the Sprint Cup Series.

While she is making the move to Cup, she had hoped for better results in 2012, when she finished with just four top-10 finishes in 33 events.

In addition to her racing, Patrick is one of the biggest sports celebrities through a second career as a model and spokesperson.

She has appeared in more Super Bowl commercials than any other celebrity, having been featured in 10 spots for internet domain hosting company Go Daddy. She will appear in two commercials for the company once again in 2013.

The 5-foot-1 driver has appeared in scantily clad outfits and bikinis in several magazines. While criticized by some, she said she has never done a shoot that she has felt went over the line and won’t apologize for using her sex appeal to help boost her brand.

“I’m a girl, and to say that I can’t use being a girl doesn’t make any sense,” Patrick said earlier this year. “In this world, there is so much competition out there and you have to use of everything that you have to make sponsors happy, to attract them and to be unique and be different.”